Blanchfield Returns to Edmonton Hunting Her First UFC Knockout

Erin Blanchfield flew to Edmonton a week early, and it wasn't sentiment. The #4-ranked flyweight (14-2, 5 submissions) wanted her body acclimated to the Alberta cold before Saturday's co-main against #7 Jasmine Jasudavicius at UFC Fight Night: Buckley vs. Malott. She's been here before — this is the same city where she out-worked former strawweight champ Rose Namajunas two years ago — and she says once the door shuts, nothing outside the cage matters anyway.

What she actually wants Saturday night is specific: a finish, ideally the first knockout of her UFC career. Of her 14 wins, five have come by submission and only two by KO, so a stoppage on the feet would be new territory. With two-time champ Valentina Shevchenko vacating the title and Natalia Silva (21-5-1) claiming it via decision over Wang Cong at UFC 332, Blanchfield sees a wide-open division — and a chance to finally stamp herself as the clear next contender after years parked in the top five.

The Scouting Advantage

The familiarity runs deeper than the zip code. Blanchfield's main training partner, #6 strawweight Fatima Kline (10-1), fought Jasudavicius on short notice up a division in Denver a couple of summers back and dropped a close decision. Kline has since gone 4-0 at her natural weight, and while the two are different stylistically, Blanchfield says picking her brain for the little details never hurts.

The bigger addition to camp is coach Ozzy Dugulubgov, an 8-2 pro-turned-trainer who joined the team at the start of the year and cornered Kline's win over Tabatha Ricci. Jasudavicius is a heavy wrestler who comes forward, which flips Blanchfield's usual script — she's normally the grappler everyone's avoiding. Having Dugulubgov's wrestling and cage expertise, she says, has given her confidence against an opponent who wants to attack rather than retreat.

Will She Call Out the Champ?

The matchup intrigued even before the belt changed hands, given the Kline history and both women sitting inside the top 10. Blanchfield admitted she was surprised Shevchenko vacated outright rather than just withdrawing, and surprised Wang landed the shot — though with Grasso, Fiorot and Blanchfield herself all recently booked or fought, she gets how the timing fell Wang's way.

As for chasing Silva, Blanchfield's gotten philosophical. She's called out title shots before and watched them drift further away, so this time she's leaning on faith and keeping her mouth shut. The plan is simpler: do the damage, get the finish, and let the result make the argument for her.